Episode 511: Maria Leyesa of Foodologie - Long Beach, CA. How a [PHILIPINO-AMERICAN] Sweet Tooth Turned into an Entrepreneurial Journey. From Psychological Degrees to Cookie Mastery. The Unique Path.

In this inspiring episode of the JUSTIN AND THE [FOOD] ENTREPRENEURS Show, host Justin Bizzarro sits down with Maria Leyesa, the passionate founder of Foodologie Baked Goods in Long Beach, California. This is a story about the power of the pivot, the importance of listening to your intuition, and how a hobby born out of necessity can transform into a full-fledged career. Maria shares her unconventional path from a career in healthcare to the kitchen. While her professional background was in occupational therapy, helping patients regain independence, her heart had always gravitated toward food. She recounts how the lockdown of 2020 became the catalyst for her transformation. Armed with nothing but curiosity and a craving for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, she embarked on a self-taught baking journey, obsessively testing recipes and learning the science behind every ingredient. This episode is a masterclass in building a brand with intention and authenticity. Maria details her strategic decision to launch with a hyper-focused menu of just four items—perfecting her cookies and brownies before expanding. She explains how she leveraged her "foodie" Instagram account, originally just a personal diary of her culinary adventures, into a powerful marketing tool that built a loyal community before she even opened her brick-and-mortar shop. Discover the unique philosophy behind Foodology Baked Goods. More than just a bakery, Maria has created a "one-stop shop" experience that blends her Filipino heritage, innovative flavors like Ube and Pandan, and a curated gift shop featuring products from other small businesses. She shares invaluable insights on the challenges of scaling a small business, the art of hiring a team that shares your passion, and why sometimes, the best business plan is simply to start, stay flexible, and relentlessly pursue quality over rapid expansion. Tune in for a dose of motivation for anyone who has ever dreamed of leaving the "safe path" to follow their true calling. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself and that the skills you learn in one career can be the secret ingredients to your success in the next.   IG: @foodologiebakedgoods Address: https://www.eatfoodologie.com/  Location: 195 Claremont Ave, Long Beach, CA 90903   Entrepreneur interested in being on the show: https://calendly.com/justin-bizzarro/podcast   Hosted By: Justin Ryan Bizzarro (IG: @justinbizzarro and LinkedIn: FOLLOW ME )   Who is Justin Ryan Bizzarro? – Justin Bizzarro is a serial food, restaurant, technology, media and marketing entrepreneur, who helped build a 24-year-old group of food and restaurant related businesses, he created with his father and business partners out of his family’s basement, in 1998. He is a highly desired business management, personal and athlete growth, free market, food diversity, and entrepreneurial leadership speaker. Justin’s expertise are in human growth, motivation, leadership and management development, health foods and beverages, global lean manufacturing facilities, vertically integrating businesses, food marketing and advertising, supply chain creation and management, direct to consumer fulfillment, transportation and distribution, personal brand building, restaurant development and construction, and entrepreneur acceleration. Justin received his BA in International Business and Management from Dickinson College, in 2002, and his MBA from University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, in 2014. He is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity in Leadership from Denver Seminary. His leadership and entrepreneur podcasts have positively impacted millions of people across the globe.   Our [ELITE] Food, Farming, Hospitality, Nutrition, and Beverage Entrepreneurs Community: Under [NEW] Construction Blog Anyone?: GorillaBrave Blog On Instagram: GorillaBrave on Instagram GorillaBrave Group on Whoop: COMM-473D96   Free Podcast.  No Advertisements.  The stories of Food, Beverage, Farming, Hospitality, and Nutrition Entrepreneurs and how their failures led to the successes in their lives and in their business.  What does the future have in store for the food, beverage, and nutrition entrepreneur?   JUSTIN AND THE [FOOD] ENTREPRENEURS Email: [email protected] Instagram: @justinandthefoodentrepreneurs ( #foodentrepreneurs )   All music is scored by host or royalty free.